TAKEN BY TREES > Open Field

A winter-y mood pervades Open Field, the debut album by Taken By Trees. Anchored by the talents of singer/songwriter Victoria Bergsman (The Concretes), this loosely organized group’s music has a fine-spun elegance emphasizing childlike melodies and melancholy observations. Bergsman’s dreamy, slightly choked vocals bring out the sparse poetry of her lyrics. Songs like “Tell Me,” “Too Young” and “Julia” ache with a sense of disappointment and loss.Label: ROUGH TRADE
[RATING: 3.5]

A winter-y mood pervades Open Field, the debut album by Taken By Trees. Anchored by the talents of singer/songwriter Victoria Bergsman (The Concretes), this loosely organized group’s music has a fine-spun elegance emphasizing childlike melodies and melancholy observations. Bergsman’s dreamy, slightly choked vocals bring out the sparse poetry of her lyrics. Songs like “Tell Me,” “Too Young” and “Julia” ache with a sense of disappointment and loss. The bleak little fable told in “The Legend” expresses the darkest edge of her vision. More playful tunes like “Hours Pass Like Centuries” brighten things here and there. There’s an undercurrent of wisdom beneath the waif-like quality of Bergsman’s songs, as well as a European sort of sophistication. The album’s arrangements emphasize acoustic instruments and are often quietly gorgeous-the carnival-like sounds of the title track are particularly charming. Open Field‘s emotional range is not broad-but within its downcast confines, its music is subtly crafted and infused with feeling.